Date of Award
5-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Bioengineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Yongren Wu, PhD
Committee Member
Hai Yao, PhD
Committee Member
Shangping Wang, PhD
Committee Member
Tong Ye, PhD
Committee Member
Martine LaBerge, PhD
Abstract
Neck pain has become an increasingly common orthopaedic healthcare issue. Evidence shows that degeneration of cervical intervertebral discs (the cartilage between the spinal vertebrae in the neck) may be associated. While disc degeneration in the lumbar spine has been extensively studied in relation to low back pain, it has received less attention in the cervical spine. Biomechanically, the cervical (neck) and lumbar (lower back) regions of the spine differ in function. Lumbar discs resist a greater burden of body weight, whereas cervical discs are adapted for mobility to aid flexible head orientation. Despite these key differences, disc injury and degeneration are often treated as if they occur the same way in both spinal regions. Few studies have directly measured the structure and mechanical properties of cervical discs at the tissue level. Moreover, vertebral fusion, the current gold-standard treatment for severely degenerated discs, may be too restrictive in the cervical region. Transplanting donor disc allografts may offer a promising motion-preserving alternative. This work establishes baseline mechanical measurements of human cervical disc tissue and introduces a goat model to evaluate its suitability for preclinical studies investigating cervical disc allograft cryopreservation and transplantation.
Recommended Citation
Buchweitz, Nathan F., "Baseline Cervical Intervertebral Disc Biomechanics and Implications for Allograft Preservation" (2026). All Dissertations. 4275.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4275
Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0001-7495-4534